This invention relates to the field of pattern layout wherein a desired final pattern is constructed from a template which carries a reduced size image of the desired pattern.
For enhancing the prospect of military air base survivability in the presence of enemy aircraft and missile action, it is currently considered desirable to employ deceptive and disruptive markings on aerially visible portions of the air base such as taxi strips, hangar roofs, ramp areas, and even runway surfaces. These deceptive markings are often in the form of painted images which may resemble aircraft, rocket or gun emplacements, and other military hardware. In addition to suggesting the presence of defensive equipment, such deceptive and disruptive images can also be employed to conceal and confuse the real identity of a particular air base area and to suggest the presence of attractive targets in benign or little-used areas of the air base. By means of such images, for example, a little-used ramp area may be arranged to appear as an aircraft parking facility or as an area containing buildings and other structures and a runway or other prime target area may be suggested to contain previous military damage and other obstructions. Deceptive markings or images of this type are considered to be effective against both manned aircraft where the viewing is performed directily by a human observer and also against cameras of either the electronic or film type where the viewing is done at a remote location. Such deceptive and disruptive images are also considered to be effective against satellite reconnaissance equipment wherein images are either transmitted in real time or are recorded for later transmission to an earth station. The use of deceptive and disruptive images is of course not limited to air bases and can be applied to other civilian and military targets including long range missile sites.
The images used in these deceptive markings may be on the order of 50 feet in diameter or even larger, depending upon the equipment being represented or the surface being concealed. In many cases it is necessary that the pattern used in preparing such images be reasonably accurate and that the final pattern image be repeated several times with good visual precision. The detection of small differences between adjacent aircraft which purport to be of the same type would be an easy task for a trained image analyst, for example. The realization of deceptive images of this type is therefore preferably accomplished by some means which offers reasonable accuracy, convenient portable size, good image repeatability, reasonable working speed, low cost, and the use of ordinary and easily available ancillary tools.
Images of this type may also be used to conceal movable objects such as vehicles, or be employed in movable decoy form for enhanced deception capability. Pattern layout arrangements of this same general type could also be useful in non-military settings for such purposes as laying out gardens, decorating buildings, providing signals for use by aviators, decorating park and recreational facilities, arranging the flash card patterns used for athletic events productions, and with smaller size images, in decorating vehicles such as the popular truck van. It is especially significant to note that the disclosed pattern transposing arrangement can be used on horizontal, vertical or inclined surfaces and can be used to at least some degree on non-planar or curved surfaces.
The pantograph, an instrument for use in the mechanical copying of patterns to a selected scale factor has of course been in the pattern layout art for many years. The pantograph provides a means by which a small size pattern may be used in reproducing a larger size image, and such devices are well suited to the moderate sized work pieces that might be contained within the bounds of a table top or even a small room. These devices become unwieldy and mechanically impractical for images of the above-indicated size, however.
Apparatus employing the pantograph principle for a variety of purposes is known in the patent art, as is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 1,428,582, issued to F. W. Deitz. The Deitz invention concerns a quick equalizing marker wherein the marking devices such as pencils are attached to successive pantograph arm junctions in order that lines having uniform separation distance can be drawn. Such lines might for example, be used as a musical scale or in drawing a set of steps. The setting of a desired line separation distance for any two of the Deitz marking devices achieves a similar line separation for the remaining marking devices. The Deitz apparatus can alternately be used to expand the size of an image by omitting the marking devices from one or more of the intermediate pantograph junctions so that the achieved marks are separated by a larger distance than the original marker separations--in the manner which is commonly achieved with simple pantograph devices.
Devices employing angular scales and movable arms which are rotationally alignable with objects are also common in the patent art, and are exemplified by the patent of M. W. Sturdevant, U.S. Pat No. 2,697,234. The Sturdevant invention shows a position locating device which is based upon the concept of identifying the desired position by way of the intersection of three line of sight vectors to predetermined landmark objects. A graduated degree scale in the Sturdevant invention also allows prepositioning of the sighting arms in accordance with recorded data. The Sturdevant invention also includes a graduated linear scale on each of the sighting arms; this scale is indicated to serve the function of allowing measurement of physical objects such as a fisherman's catch, rather than being used in the position determining or a pattern measurement function.
The use of secondary work surface patterns tending to blend into and become confused with the shape of a three-dimensional primary patterns such as an aircraft is shown in the patent application of John C. Bridenbaugh et al, Ser. No. 06/622,379, filed June 20, 1984, by the U.S. Air Force under the title of "Deception Pattern for Camouflage". The Bridenbaugh et al appliction discloses the use of shadow-like patterns located on a runway or other work surface and includes the use of repeated salient features of the shadow pattern image in order that a deceptive image acceptable from several viewpoints, be generated.
The use of radial lines originating in a central point and radiating outward from the central point to intersect with points of an image such as the outline of an aircraft is shown in the patent of Robert P. Stanton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,653. The thrust of the Stanton invention concerns the conversion of measurements from a first to a second system of measurement units, however. The aircraft outline example is used in the Stanton patent to illustrate an invention application involving measuring the size of several image details once a single dimension of the image is known in value.
The above patent references identify some of the elements of the present large pattern transposing invention, but however employ these elements for different functional purposes. The patent art has therefore fallen short of describing an arrangement for transposing large patterns such as might be suitable for the above-suggested military and commercial uses.